Isolated. Prenuclear pattern, particularly, the pitch height of the head.

Subordinative Relations

The most significant feature of prosodic subordination is inequality of the nuclear pitch intervals, i.e. the first interval is wider than the second, or vice versa.

p.255-259

section 9

Expressive Means of English Intonation

Prosodic devices that are used in English to produce expressive effects comprise various modifications of pitch, stress and duration features. These can be divided into two types: quantitative and qualitative. The first type implies emphatic stresses and tones. The term qualitative modifications can be applied to tones and head-patterns, with an inherent emotional colouring, such as the ascending, scandent, sliding, and

broken head-types or the rising-falling tone.

Emphatic Tones

Emphatic tones are used in speech for two main purposes: 1) to increase the semantic prominence of separate words in an utterance or that of an entire utterance; 2) to attach an emotional colouring to an utterance

Structurally, emphatic tones are modifications, or variants of basic kinetic and static tones .Emphasis applied to a tone increases the force of articulation on the syllable carrying the tone and , consequently ,

the effect of loudness.It also changes the pitch characteristics, moving the upper point of a kinetic tone upward and the lower point of it downward, thus widening the interval of the pitch-change. In the case of a static tone emphasis displaces the normal pitch-height of the tone upwards or downwads (extra-high and

extra-low pitch levels) as a result of which the voice-range of a an utterance is widened as compared with

the normal voice-range of neutral speech.

p. 283-285

The Use of Emphatic Static Tones

The semantic role of an emphatic tone is closely connected with the meaning of the nuclear tone. Thus, emphasis on the onset (first stressed) syllable of a high rising tune only increases the prominence of the prenuclear part thus making the question sound somewhat rhetorical.

Emphasis on the onset syllable of a falling tune enhances the energetic character of a statement, command, exclamation.

When the onset syllable of a low rising tune is made emphatic a note of impatience is suggested to an utterance

Emphasis on Kinetic Nuclear Tones

The Emphatic High Rise is most commonly used in General questions to express extreme surprise or shocked reaction.

The Emphatic Low Rise is used in various types of utterances. In Statements and Imperatives this tone is often preceded by a low-pitched head and expresses a feeling of irritation , dissatisfaction, etc.

General and Special questions with an Emphatic Low Rise, preceded by a high-pitched head convey a meaning of extreme surprise and incredulity. When a low-pitched head is pronounced before an Emphatic Low Rise the question acquires a note of antagonism and impatience.

The Emphatic Fall gives an utterance an energetic note and imparts additional modal connotations, which depend on the communicative type of the utterance .Thus Statements pronounced with an Emphatic Fall sound very categoric and decisive.

Special questions with an Emphatic Fall sound insistent or contrastive.

Imperatives and exclamations with an Emphatic Fall sound strong and enthusiastic.

When both the prenuclear and nuclear stresses are made emphatic the overall prominence of an utterance is naturally increased. In such cases emphatic stresses are frequently given not only to the notional words but to the functional words as well.

p.283-287

Irregular Preheads

Among the various ways in which the whole intonation-group can be made livelier and more emotional is the so-called Irregular Prehead. This term is applied to any prehead which is displaced in pitch from the normal position in the lower half or near the middle of the voice –range.The displacement can be made both upward and downward- High Irregular and Low Irregular Preheads,respectively, the former being much more typical of English speech.

In the High Irregular Prehead all the syllables are said on a very high pitch ,i.e. higher even than the onset syllable , which is normally the highest syllables in the intonation-group.In the text the High Prehead is indicated by a high pitch-mark (¯m)

In the Low Irregular Prehead all the syllables are said on a very low pitch, i.e. lower even than the syllables at the end of a falling tune. It is indicated by the pitch mark

The effect produced by the High Prehead is proportional to its pitch: the higher the pitch the greater the emotional colouring. It is increased when it is used before a Low Head or a low nuclear tone.

The Low Prehead is used before a high static tone and before kinetic tones which begin on a higher pitch.

In tunes with the nuclear Emphatic Mid /Low Fall the High Irregular Prehead is used to express disapproval, indignation, insistence.

In tunes with the emphatic Low Rise nuclear tone the High Irregular Prehead often adds a feeling of disagreement and impatience .

When followed by the emphatic High Rise the High Irregular Prehead gives a feeling of extreme surprise.

p.298-300